All I Need
by itsreykenobi
Summary: "When he is six years old, the words 'Pudding Pop' appear on his wrist in the curliest, loopiest handwriting he's ever seen. There's even a little heart dotting the 'i'." Soulmate AU, J/H
_EDIT 31 OCT 2016: Yo, I've changed my pen-name! Cross my heart, I've switched from bartonsromanova to itsreykenobi so that it lines up with my tumblr xD Never been accused of plagiarising my own story before, that was an experience! But thank you, I took it as a compliment :)_

 _This is a really short soulmate AU that's been floating around in my drafts for a while. The basic premise is that your "soul mark" (dorky, I know, but we love it) is a set of words that your soulmate will say to you at one point, and they're usually something that will be very important in the relationship. I thought it was a bit more interesting than the standard 'first word' method._

 _Anyway, this was really just a bit of fun, but if you enjoy it I would absolutely love you to death if you left a review! I have so many unfinished Jackie/Hyde stories lined up, since I am complete and utter trash for them, so hopefully I can get another one up soon! :)_

* * *

When he is six years old, the words "Puddin' Pop" appear on his wrist in the curliest, loopiest handwriting he's ever seen. There's even a little heart dotting the 'i'. At first he's excited - a little hesitant, perhaps, because "Puddin' Pop"? A little girly, isn't it? He shrugs, tracing his right index finger over each letter, memorising the curve of each line. There's someone out there for him. Someone who'll believe in him. Someone who's touch will burn for all the right reasons.

When he's older, he'll look back and think how fucked up it is that at six years old he'd already been conditioned to think he was worthless.

In the present, he runs to show his Grandma - she's always talking about soulmates, and the beauty they display in what can sometimes be a cruel world - but he mistakenly finds her with his Dad, and Bud unleashes a torrent of fury upon him for having something so sissy engraved upon him.

Forman teases him endlessly when he sees the handwriting, but he snatches his hand away before the other boy can see what it says, and frogs him hard on the arm. Forman backs up, but there's something sad in his expression. He doesn't bother to think about it.

That afternoon, while Steven's wandering aimlessly through the mall after being forgotten _again_ , he pockets a leather cuff off a display. It's a bit big for him, but he sits down on the bench and attempts to tie it around the mark. A little girl, with shiny brown hair and a peter-pan dress, shamelessly walks over to him and starts peering at his wrist. She wrinkles her nose in disgust, her voice dripping with more snobbiness than he thought someone her age could have.

"What's _that_?"

He glares at her, "Nothing."

She laughs tauntingly, revealing that she's missing a front tooth, "Don't look like nuffin'. Looks like somefing dirty and... and _poor_!"

She tilts her chin up at him, placing her hands on her hips. He ignores her and goes back to tying the cuff together, although his fingers keep tripping up and he's struggling to do it one handed. The girl watches for a few minutes and then sighs in annoyance.

"Urgh. Give it here. I can do bunny ties now."

She wrenches the two pieces of cord from his grasp and carefully loops them together, her tongue poking out of her mouth in concentration. She steps back, smoothes her pink dress and waits for him to thank her.

He does, grudgingly, and then starts to walk home.

The cuff seems to do the trick on Bud - he even gets his hair ruffled appreciatively when he goes home and announces he doesn't believe in soulmates.

* * *

Jackie's screams of joy echo all through the house on the morning of her thirteenth birthday, and she spends the whole day touching her freshly painted fingertips to the spot where it lies on her collarbone. It is, quite possibly, the worst boy handwriting ever - all sharp edges and bunched together messily - but she doesn't care because this is her sign, her sign that Prince Charming is out there waiting for her.

Her sign that she's one of the lucky ones.

She always knew she couldn't be this beautiful for nothing.

* * *

At fourteen, the leather cuff gets replaced by one with a watch attached, and he doesn't think much more of his supposed "soulmate". After all, the universe has been pretty shitty to him so far - he hardly doubts it will change its actions for something as stupid as love.

She shows its to everyone at school, flaunts it like a piece of expensive jewellery. She becomes, if possible, even more popular, with boys lining up to date her. Her first boyfriend is Todd, and their relationship lasts about three days before she finds him holding hands with _Stephanie Hux_. She's not even _pretty_.

He glances at her face, at the hand that just slapped him, and then her collarbone. She can practically see the cogs turning in his brain.

He says the word - her word - and looks up hopefully. She slaps him again.

* * *

"You know, there's pudding pops in the freezer if you want to suck on them instead of Hyde's face."

Jackie pulls away from him, glaring at Eric, "Oh, go upstairs if it bothers you so much. You're just mad that Donna would rather spend the day reading about boring, skinny scientist losers than making out with your scrawny ass."

She pauses, and he watches as her lips quirk up in a particularly devious smile, "Although actually, wouldn't any sane woman rather do that?"

He can't help the smile that overtakes his face. Forman leaves, muttering something about how this is his house, dammit, but he's not really paying attention because Jackie's turned back towards him in his lap and is beaming at him.

"Nice burn," he says appreciatively, and she giggles.

"Thanks Puddin' Pop."

She leans in for another kiss, but he pulls away in shock.

"What?"

"I said, thanks."

"No... the other bit."

His heart is pounding in his chest because it can't - it _can't_ \- be Jackie. Jackie's too... undamaged, too _good_ , to be his soulmate. It just isn't the way the universe works - rich girls like her are supposed to have soulmates like... like _Kelso_.

Not him.

Never him.

* * *

She learnt an important lesson about boys who cheat, that day. Michael never knew that she had a mark imprinted on her skin. Maybe that was why she kept taking him back - she wanted him to say it, so she kept giving him chances. Stupid, really. Michael was never her soulmate - he loved her (maybe), but he only bought out the worst in her. Steven, though... Steven makes her feel alive. As she sits in his lap, she's glad that she's continued her routine of carefully applying coverup to her neck every morning. If he ever says it, she wants it to be real.

 _If_ he ever does.

 _If_.

There seem to be a lot of "if"s in their relationship, when she thinks about it. What _if_ he hadn't cheated with the nurse, what _if_ she hadn't taken him back. Would she be happier? She's happy now, undoubtedly, but would she be more so without him? She doesn't think so - finds it hard to imagine - but... she wonders.

Did he miss his chance to say it?

* * *

She's leaving for Chicago, and he has to make a decision that has far more gravity than she knows.

Her words are on his skin, a constant reminder of what exactly she means - will always mean - to him. She's his soulmate.

But he's not hers.

At least, he doesn't think he is. He knows she's got a mark, because once when she had her head thrown back against the wall and he was pressing kisses to her skin the concealer smudged under his touch.

He couldn't read it, didn't want to. She'd flushed, averted her gaze, and he hadn't pressed.

He figures there's two explanations.

One - she's his soulmate, but he's not hers. He wouldn't be surprised if that were the case. Hasn't he been saying since 13 that the universe takes joy in dealing him a shitty hand?

The second explanation is that he _is_ her soulmate, but she's ashamed of the fact. She doesn't want him.

That hurts more than he'd care to admit.

* * *

She can't help the words as they fly from her mouth, begging for one last chance, because there's a pull in her chest and she won't leave him without trying.

"Unless, Steven, you have something you want to say to me. In which case I'm listening."

She won't cry, she has to be strong. The silence is deafening, and she sighs in defeat, standing. The walk to the basement door, though only a few steps, feels like her heart is being ripped out of her chest.

Her heart won't leave Steven, but her head will.

* * *

She's walking out of his life - for the second time, now - and this time she won't be coming back. Didn't he decide only a few days ago that he'd marry her?

He forces his face to remain stoic - zen - but his mind is whirling. This is his last chance - what he says (or doesn't say) next could, quite possibly, be the most important thing he'll ever say to her.

 _The most important thing._

He glances at her form, the shiny hair swishing as she walks away from him.

It's worth a shot.

* * *

"Jackie."

His hand wraps around her wrist, holding her in place, as his voice splits the silence like a knife. She turns, eyes immediately going to the place of contact. It's been so long since he's held her hand, so long that heat is coursing through her veins, up her arm and swirling in her chest. There's something on his wrist, she notes, right where his watch normally resides. Something black and loopy and -

Her heart stops beating for a split second. Something that's hers. The blood is pounding in her ears, her body feels like it's on fire, and Steven is looking at her and holding her wrist and she won't leave him, but she needs - she needs to know -

"Stay."

* * *

 _Just in case we didn't get it: Hyde's little revelation there, of it being the 'most important thing' he'd say to her, is that he suddenly realised that maybe he_ _ **was**_ _her soulmate, he just hadn't said the words yet :') Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed it!_


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